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ysenia

The Iran nuclear framework deal: A definitive, research-based guide from Harv... - 0 views

  • However, in order to utilize the plutonium for a weapon, Iran would still have to build a reprocessing plant to be able to separate plutonium from spent fuel.
  • [I]t will reduce the risk of Iran getting a bomb better than any of the realistic alternatives. Iran has agreed to physical limits on its ability to produce weapons-grade materials that will assure a break-out timeline of roughly a year for the next 10 years, as well as additional restraints and verification measures to monitor compliance and detect cheating. If the U.S. rejects the deal and returns to sanctions, Iran is certain to return to what it was doing before the interim agreement: installing additional centrifuges, enriching uranium, increasing its stockpile of enriched material, developing more advanced centrifuges, and completing the Arak heavy water reactor. The agreement does not solve the problem, but it reduces the risk for now and buys substantial time to resolve the threat in the future.
    • ysenia
       
      reduces risk of future issues
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    Overview of the Nuclear Deal as well as the pros and cons. A more in-depth evaluation of facts about the program and the benefits of global intervention.
allieggg

Wasta, Work and Corruption in Transnational Business | CONNECTED in CAIRO - 0 views

  • Girgis worked for a company that insisted as part of their global corporate culture that there be no “corruption.” Six years after opening its office in Egypt, they continued to be plagued by behaviors they understood to be “corrupt.”
  • I explained that wasta referred to a network of informal loans and favors traded by Arab men in order to move up in the world.
  • Encouraged by my open, neutral tone, Girgis opened up further. “My father mortgaged family lands to pay for my college,” Girgis said. “I owe him everything. If he asks me to find a job for his brother’s son, how can I say no?”
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  • families are economic units.
  • “You can send me anywhere else in the world and I’ll run the office by the book,” Girgis told his supervisor. “But I can’t do that here.”
  • any Egyptian man they hired to run the office would be equally suspended in webs of wasta obligations
  • “investment and return” frame I created for understanding, emphasizing the economic parallels between Arab families and running a business
  • , I’ve known several Egyptian businessmen who thought wasta was an improvement on Western models of hiring.
  • Net result: greater loyalty, less likelihood of theft, less likelihood of negotiating for new jobs behind your back and leaving you in the lurch, etc, he claimed.
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    This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East. 
kbrisba

UNWTO Supports Tunisia Tourism :: Travel Industry Wire - 0 views

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    Tourism employs 400,000 people in Tunisia and is a key driver of the economy. The UNWTO and Tunisia agreed on a new cooperation framework which includes the areas of communications, education and training and hotel classification.
aromo0

VOICES: Women's Rights in Egypt - Re-examining a Revolution | Middle East Voices - 1 views

  • The setbacks women experienced since the Muslim Brotherhood gained political power vary, from the approval of a constitution that lacks a clear statement on women’s rights
  • istorical feminist figure Doriya Shafiq from school textbooks.
  • he Women Deliver conference, coined as the largest meeting of the decade focused on the health and rights of women and girls.
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  • I’m not defending the Islamists, but I’m saying that the general mood around the world is more conservative. And this is clear in particular in the case of anything related to women, whether rights or services or freedom
  • Tallawy pointed out that in Egypt the political hurdles are intensified by a strong wave of anti-female sentiment where women’s actions are policed at all times, coupled with a decreased emphasis on education in favor of marriage and homemaking.
  • women’s causes is further hindered by the fact that non-governmental organizations operate within a framework of harsh government restrictions and a perpetual lack of funding. But she also believes that women’s rights groups have not changed their ways enough since the revolution, often working in a reactionary way rather than developing new ideas or tackling the deeper issues.
  • So we have more work to do on the real common issues between all women, and to develop their sense of empowerment to make choices, set their own priorities, and express themselves well.”
  • more on-the-ground interaction and research will be required. The second consideration, Abouzeid believes, must be the high rates of illiteracy, which can be addressed by utilizing audiovisual media campaigns, along with changing a media culture dismissive of women and their plight.
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    The article from June of 2013 addresses the issues women face in Egypt and the causes of those issues. The article reflects on the need for women to identify the roots of their injustices and seek opportunities to prevent further restrictions on their rights. The article concludes by recognizing the means that will work best for encouraging women to pursue their rights, such as sing audiovisual media campaigning as well as well as developing "their sense of empowerment to make choices."
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    This article mentions setbacks in the progress to women rights. These include setbacks by the government and societal norms within the culture.
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    This article mentions setbacks in the progress to women rights. These include setbacks by the government and societal norms within the culture.
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    Re-examining a revolution that is needed in order to create a better environment for women. The Muslim Brotherhood coming into power damaged women's rights.
fcastro2

Are China and Russia Moving toward a Formal Alliance? | The Diplomat - 0 views

    • fcastro2
       
      Why is this relationship forming now? Ukraine Crisis, they want a multipolar world, China/Japan dispute, & Russia and the NATO expansions. 
    • fcastro2
       
      Advocates for China-Russian alliance. Shared strategic interests and possible length of this alliance, U.S. and its Allies threat to Russia leaves in no choice but to side with China, but may lead to another cold war.
    • fcastro2
       
      Opponents of China-Russian Alliance. China could be dragged to war by Russia, Russian's unwillingness to be a junior to China, Russia wants good relations with ALL Asian countries. They believe this alliance is unrealistic and a strategic partnership is more reasonable. 
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  • In the joint statement issued by China and Russia, the main message is that China-Russia relations have reached a new stage of comprehensive strategic partnership and this will help increase both countries’ international status and influence, thus contributing to a more just international order
  • China secures a long-term (30 years) provision of natural gas from Russia and Russia can reduce its dependence on the European markets as well as strengthen Russia’s position against Western sanctions
  • Russia is now moving closer to China’s side with regard to the territorial disputes between China and Japan
  • China and Russia last week vetoed a draft UN resolution to send Syria to the International Criminal Court for war crimes. China and Russia had vetoed three previous UNSC resolutions condemning Syria
  • China and Russia signed a huge natural gas deal that is worth about $400 billion.
  • China and Russia will deepen cooperation under the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building in Asia (CICA), a new security framework in Asia-Pacific that conveniently excludes the U.S. and Japan.
  • , the main trigger is the recent Ukraine crisis that has seriously damaged Russia-West relations
  • mutual strategic needs as both China and Russia want to create a multipolar world that is not dominated by the U.S., particularly as China faces threats from the US-led alliance in Asia
  • China’s chance of winning maritime disputes with Japan partly depends on maintaining a good relationship with Russia
  • the NATO expansion is a serious threat to Russia’s national security and as such Russia has to fight back
  • new China-Russia alliance is now emerging and this will eventually lead to a multi-polar world order.
  • problems in China-Russia relations such as historical mistrust, the lack of a common threat, and conflicting interests in Central Asia
  • he most important factor determining whether China and Russia should form an alliance is whether the two countries have shared strategic interests and how long such shared strategic interests can last
  • China nor Russia could become a member of the Western bloc led by the U.S. because other allies of the U.S. would feel threatened by China and Russia
  • thus Russia has no better alternative to siding with China
  • , China’s number two position in the world means that China will not be supported by the U.S. with regard to most international affairs issues
  • Yan also refutes the argument that a China-Russia alliance against the U.S. would lead to another cold war.
  • ould be potentially high costs of such an alliance due to common problems such as fears of abandonment and entrapment
  • U.S. militarily threatens both China and Russia at the same time
  • Russia is unwilling to be China’s junior partner in the relationship
  • Russia wants to maintain good relations with all Asian states and thus will not side with China when it comes to territorial disputes between China and Japan
  • China-Russia alliance is unrealistic and a strategic partnership is more flexible and better for China.
  • seems that in the near future a formal alliance between China and Russia will not happen due to a variety of reasons.
  • China could be dragged into an unnecessary war by Russia
  • , a formal alliance will not occur
fcastro2

Putin brings China into Middle East strategy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views

    • fcastro2
       
      Russia & China's negotiations involving Syria
  • one of China’s main strategic regional projects was the economic region (or belt) of the 21st century Great Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which intends to create a wide area of Chinese economic presence from China’s western borders to Europe
  • clearly comprises the countries of Western Asia (i.e., the Middle East)
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  • Chinese leader opened the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum on June 5 in Beijing
  • energy cooperation; infrastructure construction and creation of favorable conditions for trade and investment; and high-tech domains of nuclear energy, the space rocket sector and new energy sources
    • fcastro2
       
      China & Arabian cooperation
  • suggested that the creation of a free trade zone between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) be accelerated
  • China supports the peace process and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, "enjoying full sovereignty."
  • , why shouldn’t Russia and China in the current situation — given the proximity of their interests and positions — undertake joint initiatives to unblock the peace process, while initiating steps to "introduce this activity within an institutional framework?
  • , the unilateral efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry to promote the Israeli-Palestinian peace process are not bearing fruit
  • Russia is interested in using this unprecedented convergence with China in its operations on the Middle East arena, where Moscow has in many ways already been acting in unison with Beijing
  • , the Middle East Quartet is one of few international platforms where Russia can constructively engage with the United States and the EU
  • China's growing economic cooperation with Arab countries not a cause for concern in Moscow, but it is also viewed in a very favorable light
  • will not one day replace the United States as the security guarantor for the transportation routes of these resources
  • Moscow’s and Beijing’s interests converge in the joint countering of terrorism, extremism and separatism
  • . Among the militants from radical groups fighting against government troops in Syria, there are people hailing not only from Russia and Central Asia (fewer in numbers to those coming from Arab and Islamic as well as Western countries), but also from the Uighur minority in China.
  • recently, Beijing came under harsh criticism from Ankara for its actions in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region against the Uighur population, which the Turks believe to be their next of kin
  • . Disappointed by the failure of EU accession, the Turkish leadership has even started talking about the desire to join the SCO as an observer
  • Ankara expresses its willingness to cooperate with China in the fight against terrorists and condemns the separatism coming from some groups in Xinjiang
  • There is no doubt that a comprehensive strategic partnership, in which Russia and China would act in concert along the political consensus reached by their two leaders, would in the short term
  • According to both, this convergence is neither a union nor a tournament of predators, but a very pragmatic integrationist instrument of protection and projection of interests by the two powers, including in the Middle East.
  • the Middle East was not the focus of the talks between the two leaders
  • roughly 50 agreements ushering in a period of unprecedented convergence between the two countries
  • seems to allow the two parties to seek further coordination in their actions
  • Such consensus includes Syria, despite Beijing’s lesser involvement on this issue, relative to Moscow; Iran, within the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program; the fight against terrorism and extremism; the creation of a weapons of mass destruction-free Middle East; the condemnation of external intervention and the strategy of "regime change" as well as the push for "color revolutions;" the policy to reach a settlement in the Middle East; and relations with the new Egyptian regime and with respect to the Sudanese issues.
fcastro2

Turkey says training of Syrian rebels to begin on March 1 - 0 views

  • A program to train and equip moderate syrian rebels will get under way on March 1, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
  • Tanju Bilgiç, came after Turkey and the us recently announced the signing of a long-anticipated deal to train and equip the rebels.
  • some 2,000 Syrian rebels will be trained and equipped in Turkey within a year as part of the program
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  • The agreement comes at a time when fighting has escalated between rebels and the Syrian regime in and around Aleppo and talks of a cease-fire in the northern province are taking place.
  • Turkey was one of the three countries that publicly said it was ready to open its territory for the training of the Syrian rebels.
  • US had earlier said it was considering initially dispatching at least 400 troops to train the rebels outside of Syria
  • We have been saying for a long time that the international community has the responsibility to support the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which is recognized by 114 countries and the groups related to the coalition,” said Çavuşoğlu, adding that the training agreement is an important step taken within this framework.
  • “England is also carrying out similar training [programs] in Libya. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have also announced that they will be hosting a train-and-equip program,”
  • The deal between Ankara and Washington is a positive development between the two long-standing allies, despite strains over Middle Eastern policy. Turkey wants President Bashar al-Assad's departure to be the focus in Syria, while Washington's priority remains battling ISIL insurgents.
  • The NATO ally has also has been facing backlash for its reluctance to join the US-led coalition efforts to eliminate ISIL, feeding speculation that this reluctance stems from some Turkish officials being ideologically close to the terrorist group.
  • Turkish authorities have strongly condemned the terrorist acts of ISIL militants and say these actions have nothing to do with Islam.
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    Turkey has announced that, along with the US, they will be training some 2,000 Syrian rebels. Tensions have been rising between Syria and Turkey ever since Turkey went into Syria to retrieve a historical figure and relocate him but they are hoping this move will calm the tensions between the two states. 
jordanbrown16

Obama says extending deadline for Iran nuclear deal not useful - 0 views

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    Why Obama thinks extending the March deadline for a nuclear deal with Iran will not be useful if Iran does not agree to a basic framework that assures world powers it is not pursuing nuclear arms.
alarsso

Inside the quiet effort to plan for a post-Assad Syria | Foreign Policy - 0 views

  • The absence of Obama administration officials at these meetings, even as observers, was deliberate.
  • purposely stayed away from contributing to the direct overthrow of the Assad regime,
  • not directly involved U.S. government officials
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  • The project is called "The day after: Supporting a democratic transition in Syria."
  • providing updates
  • o the Arab League, the Friends of Syria group, the team of U.N. Special Envoy Kofi Annan, and the opposition Syrian National Council.
  • develop concrete plans
  • immediate aftermath
  • mitigate the risks of bureaucratic, security, and economic chaos.
  • USIP’s involvement is primarily in a facilitation and coordination
  • plans to reform the justice sector
  • ole of the armed opposition in a post-Assad Syria
  • transition is not sweeping away of the entire political and judicial framework of Syria
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    Committee meets to prepare plan for possible transition during post-assad period.
jsawin

IMF Fact Sheet - 0 views

shared by jsawin on 16 Feb 15 - No Cached
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    The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. The goal of the conference was to establish a framework for economic cooperation and development that would lead to a more stable and prosperous global economy. While this goal remains central to both institutions, their work is constantly evolving in response to new economic developments and challenges.
jsawin

IMF Fact Sheet - 1 views

shared by jsawin on 16 Feb 15 - No Cached
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    The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. The goal of the conference was to establish a framework for economic cooperation and development that would lead to a more stable and prosperous global economy. While this goal remains central to both institutions, their work is constantly evolving in response to new economic developments and challenges.
jordanbrown16

Kerry and Iran's Zarif to try narrow gaps in nuclear talks - 0 views

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    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will try to narrow gaps in another round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Sunday as they press to meet a March 31 deadline for a political framework agreement.
jordanbrown16

Op-Ed The neocons: They're back, and on Iran, they're uncompromising as ever - 1 views

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    Neocons say "the U.S. has no choice but to go on the attack before Iran explodes a nuclear bomb and becomes a regional superpower with the ability to destroy Israel."
fcastro2

UN plan to relocate Syrian refugees in northern Europe | World news | The Guardian - 0 views

  • “orderly relocation” of thousands of Syrian refugees from southern Europe to richer countries in the north, and is pressing the EU to agree to a year-long pilot programme
  • the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has approached senior EU figures to get backing for its pilot programme
  • new approaches, which could be achieved within the existing Dublin framework, were urgently needed:
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  • is a radical departure from current EU policy, which forces asylum seekers to apply for asylum in their first country of entry, under legislation known as the Dublin law.
  • We need to convince them that it is better to go legally, that there is an alternative to months of suffering
  • More than 3 million people are estimated to have fled the country in the past four years, and although the vast majority have remained in neighbouring countries – Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan – thousands have tried to make the perilous journey to Europe.
  • Most of those who survive the Mediterranean crossing – and more than 3,000 died last year – end up in Italy and Greece
  • 42,000 Syrians ended up in Italy in 2014 alone
  • apply for asylum in their country of arrival. But only a tiny minority do. In practice, many migrants simply slip through the net and move, vulnerably, around Europe.
  • Syrians who chose to move irregularly across Europe could be reduced if people were allowed to legally travel onwards to join family or move to countries where they have language skills or work opportunities
  • Syrian conflict has exacerbated a refugee crisis in north Africa and the Middle East
  • The proposed relocation, which would start as a one-year pilot programme, would focus only on Syrians who have been recognised as refugees in Italy and Greece and would depend on an initial voluntary commitment from member states
  • previous attempts to reform the Dublin law have been met with fierce resistance during internal EU discussions
  • UK and other northern European countries have fought in both domestic and European courts to defend the right to return asylum seekers to their first country of entry
  • arguing that protection and accommodation conditions in Italy and Greece are inadequate
  • stressed the importance of states upholding the Dublin regulation
  • the commission is discussing with the member states on how to ensure a more balanced distribution of resettled refugees among all member states. We wil
  • Cochetel acknowledged that only a significant interest in building a new system would create a change in behaviour among desperate migrants
  • Last month Turkey become the largest country of asylum in the world
  • massive irregular secondary movements feeding trafficking, leading to human suffering and exploitation
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    The European Union is having some issues with Syrian refugees not staying in the country to where they first applied for asylum. This, and the ever growing number of Syrian refugees in Europe, has lead to a call to reform the Dublin Law. 
ysenia

The Historic Deal that Will Prevent Iran from Acquiring a Nuclear Weapon | The White House - 0 views

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    The White House published an interactive article about the role the United States is playing in the Iran Deal. It showcases facts, the deal itself and why it is important.
aacosta8

Cyber jihad and cyber terrorism: A real threat to governments - 0 views

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    One of the ways terrorism is flourishing is through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in an online world where 196 countries are connected to the Internet. It should not be surprising that terrorists use ICT, because firstly it is difficult to track and trace cyber communications, and secondly there is a lack of a globally accepted legal framework that would improve information security.
mcooka

Algeria: Labor Protests Forcibly Dispersed | Human Rights Watch - 0 views

  • Police in Algiers beat teachers demonstrating for greater job security on March 21 and 22, 2016, injuring at least two
  • sit-in to demand integration of teachers into the civil service to provide greater job security.
  • .G., who asked not to be named, has been a contract teacher for three years in a high school in Algier
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  • Aïssat said that the police took them to the Mohammadia police station and held them until 5 p.m. He said that the police did not tell them the reasons for their arrest, and released them without charge.
  • Algeria’s constitution guarantees the right to freedom of assembly. Amendments, entered into force on March 7, 2016, include a provision that, “The right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed within the framework of the law, which sets forth how it is to be exercised” (article 49).
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    This article looks at the teacher protest in Algeria. There was a group of teachers on March 22 that did a sit in to advocate for better job security. They were forced out and beaten by the police
csherro2

Algerian War: 1954 to 1962 - 1 views

  • FLN headquarters in Nasser's Egypt calling on Muslims in Algeria to join in a national struggle for the "restoration of the Algerian state, sovereign, democratic, and social, within the framework of the principles of Islam."
  • the French relented and on 20 March 1956 gave Tunisia complete independence.
  • February 1956, Morocco acquired limited home rule, and on March 2nd France and Morocco signed an agreement giving Morocco complete independence.
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  • n March, Mollet received new authority to act against the rebellion in Algeria from parliament's Special Powers Law, passed in a 455 to 76 vote.
  • The FLN tightened its organization and began focusing on terrorism in the cities, mainly Algiers.
  • By 1 January 1957 the French had 308,000 soldiers in Algeria. On 28 January 1957 the UN was scheduled to debate the Algerian question, and for that day the FLN scheduled a one-week Muslim work stoppage in Algiers.
  • The French showed low ranking guerrillas they had captured documents describing other guerrillas as working for the French, and then they released these guerrillas. Some of those released fell for the trick, resulting in purging within the FLN.
  • The French military made itself dominant across much of Algeria.
  • To escape the military, thousands of Algerians fled to Tunisia or Morocco and joined the FLN there.
  • On July 3, Algeria became officially independent. Meanwhile another big migration was underway. Around 800,000 of those in Algeria of European descent – an overwhelming majority – were moving to Europe.
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    In the early morning hours of 1 November 1954, small units of Algeria Muslims, organized by the Front de Libération National (FLN) attacked police posts, warehouses, communications facilities, and public utilities military installations.
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